Illinois lawmakers may vote Tuesday on a pension reform bill given to them by House Speaker Michael Madigan and the three junior legislative leaders.

Basically, it limits cost-of-living increases, with a bigger hit on higher-income retirees than on people earning relatively low wages. Employees will contribute 1 percent less to their pensions.

The bill caps pensions at a maximum of $110,000 a year and requires the state to make its annual pension payments, something it hasn’t always been doing. Ten percent of the annual savings from the reforms must go to paying off the $100 billion unfunded pension liability, which is supposed to happen in 2045.

Pension costs now consume 25 percent of all state spending, and the percentage continues to increase.

Although unions are making an all-out push to defeat it, this bill doesn’t feature the usual Republican-Democrat split. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn supports it, but so does state Sen. Pat Brady, R-Bloomington, a conservative running for governor in 2014. Bruce Rauner, a Chicagoland Republican businessman also in the governor’s race, is against it. State Treasurer Dan Rutherford, also a GOP candidate for governor, also opposes the bill, saying it’s unconstitutional.

Governor candidate and state Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Wheaton, said on WGN AM 720 this morning that “I want to read the language” before taking a stand. “It is going to end up in court,” Dillard said, “and I want to make sure we get it right.”

Dillard criticized the lack of hearings, saying “What’s wrong with taking a day or two on something that is worth $100 billion or more and having hearings?”

In northern Illinois, state Sen. Tim Bivins, R-Dixon, is a “no” vote.

“The state Constitution is clear; you can’t change the benefits. I think they’ll pass something, it will be challenged in court and the courts will rule against the state ... If the courts rule in the unions’ favor, that sets the stage to raise taxes,” Bivins said. “The other problem I have is, 90 percent of the savings from the reforms has no direction; they can do anything they want with it.”

“This is the bill we are being given. It’s basically the one Madigan had before,” Syverson said. “The bill says the state will fully fund pensions, but there’s nothing to force that to be done. The same people who voted to underfund pensions could go right back to doing that.”

Page 2 of 2 - But Syverson conceded that “Doing nothing means another interest downgrade, and we’re headed into real financial problems if we don’t do something. I don’t see what else we can do.”

State Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, is a “no” vote.

“We still don’t have the final bill,” he said. “They did send us 325 pages of some sort of agreement, but that was what was leaked to Capital Fax. I’m not a speed reader. I’m still going through it.”

Cabello wanted judges’ pensions in the bill, but they are excluded. He also wanted lawmakers to lose their pensions, something else not in the bill.

“And I have still not seen ay language that we need a super majority in order to not make full pension payments,” Cabello said. “Right now I don’t think they have the votes to pass it.”

State Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, and state Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Loves Park, said they are undecided.